In the wake of the pandemic, even though the effects of it are diminishing, as we can clearly see the after-effects of it are here to stay. Of the most industries affected by the pandemic, probably the industry that got the hardest blow was that of healthcare. But with it, there also came a wave of innovation for healthcare.
But with the changes and new norms coming in, industry professionals adapted to it just easily. Across the globe, professionals have concentrated on coming up with new ways to provide services. One of the ways among them is Virtual Healthcare and Telehealth. Although prevalent since many years, virtual healthcare is now in boom.
So what exactly is virtual healthcare?
To define it in simple words, virtual healthcare refers to the technology that is used for virtual visits, or the hospital visits that take place between the patients and the relatives through communications technology. It is the video and audio connectivity that allows real-time virtual meetings from any place via a video-conference between the patient and its visitors.
Not only for those in the hospital, this virtual healthcare can also be useful for a patient to seek expert medical advice from the doctors through video calls.
With the major issue of connectivity in rural areas, and patients not being able to connect to doctors for appropriate advice, virtual healthcare comes to aid. To this date, the technology of virtual healthcare is being mainly used for meetings, consultations, check-ins and status reports. It is yet to be used for in-depth diagnosis and treatments.
This technology has also been useful for the specialists to monitor certain situations or procedures from remote locations. For severe situations like diabetes or heart conditions, where hospitalization occurs too often, virtual healthcare has helped the doctors and patients to monitor the conditions and take actions timely.
How does Virtual Healthcare differ from Telehealth?
Although at times virtual healthcare and telehealth are the terms that are used synonymously, the fact is virtual healthcare is actually a small part of telehealth. Telehealth is a broad term that encompasses all different kinds of technologies in healthcare.
Either way, the demand for the increase in technologies has increased, especially in the rural areas where consulting a professional in-person is hard. It has made operations easier, and by incorporating different technologies, the healthcare sector is the one that has become ever more efficient.
With reduction in time and effortless delivery of solutions and results, telehealth and virtual healthcare is here to stay.
